OXFORD, Miss. – Taking on an NCAA Division I program that not only made the postseason a year ago but won a game, Clayton State (0-0, 0-0 PBC) held their own with an impressive second half before falling at Ole Miss (0-0, 0-0 SEC) by a 103-87 score in an NCAA men's basketball exhibition on Thursday, November 5.
 
Senior guard Saiquan Terry (Manchester, Ga.) dropped 19 points along with four assists while sophomore guard Dantez Bennamon (Goose Creek, S.C.) finished with 18 points and six boards to pace the Lakers. Junior forward Alfonso Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) notched a solid all-around game with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, four boards, three assists and a block in 29 minutes of action.
 
They were joined by fellow newcomer sophomore guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) with nine points and a game-high six assists and sophomore guard Kendall Joseph (Snellville, Ga.) with 10 points. Senior forward Takija Knight (Crawfordville, Fla.) rounded out the top performers with eight points and a team-high tying six rebounds.
 
For the first 6:42 of the game, it was what most would expect with a DII taking on a solid NCAA Division I program as Ole Miss used an 11-0 run to fuel a 23-7 lead. From there, however, the Lakers would hold their own and eventually battle back to within 32-17 by the 7:12 mark.
 
Over the next 1:53 that would change drastically as the Rebels exploded for a 14-4 run that would stretch the lead to 46-21 with 5:19 left in the half. Clayton would then cut the deficit to 18 over the final five minutes as the teams headed to the locker room with the margin at 51-33.
 
Having faced the offensive onslaught of a Southeastern Conference team that made the NCAA Tournament,  the Lakers rebounded bigtime in the second half. Over the first 4:09, Clayton State would use back-to-back threes to fuel a 17-9 run to close to within 10 points at 60-50.
 
They would eventually cut it to within nine on three occasions, the last coming on a Joseph triple at 11:38 to cut it to 68-59. The Rebels would push back out to a 17-point margin at 78-61 but the Lakers would not go away, narrowing the gap to 11 at 85-74 with 4:57 to play.
 
At that point, Ole Miss found their offense, mounting a 9-0 run to push the lead to an insurmountable 94-74 with just 3:23 left. From there, they would go on to close out the 103-87 exhibition victory.
 
Leading the way for the Rebels was Stefan Moody with a game-high 25 points along with five assists and a pair of steals in just 22 minutes. He was joined by Sebastian Saiz with a monster double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds, along with three steals, while Sam Finley notched 21 points in as many minutes. Tomasz Gielo went 5-of-10 from the floor for 15 points and added three steals and J.T. Escobar chipped in with seven points and a team-best four assists.
 
As a team, after trailing 51-33 at the break, Clayton State outscored the Ole Miss 54-52 in the second half. Over the final 20 minutes, they went 18-of-29 from the floor for a scorching .621 and knocked down 8-of-13 three-pointers.
 
Following a nearly two week hiatus, the Lakers will open the regular season at Lane College on Wednesday, November 18. Game time is set for 7 p.m. (EST).
 
NOTES
The game marks the debut of not only six new players, all transfers, but also the Jimmy Link era … Link joined the Lakers in May following a highly successful run at Paine College in May … it is the second straight year Clayton State has ben competitive against a Division I program from Mississippi … last season they dropped a 59-46 decision at Mississippi State that was closer than the final score would indicate.